“Hope is the thing with feather 
T H E M E
F O R M A T
Emily Dickinson
L i t e r a l M e a n i n g
American poet
Famous for her unusual use of form and syntax
No belief in God, however evident throughout her poem, she was a spiritual person
Lived in almost complete isolation, except from her family, by the 1860’s
After she died, her sister, Lavina, found nearly 1,800 handwritten poems or fascicles
Influences
Dickinson was not influenced by the outside world. She was extremely introverted for most of her life and rarely interacted with others.
- Rhyme Scheme: ABCD EFEF GHHH
- Rhyme Pattern: Irregular
- 3 stanza, each as a treset
Perseverance and optimism
Allegory poem
- Poem needs to be analyzed in order
the understand the hidden meaning
- Bird represents being hopeful and persevering
Hope is represented by what we can assume to be a bird due to the characteristics used to describe the symbol, as well the use of the word bird in line 7. Literally this poem describes this bird as going through and surviving many hardships like a storm. In the end the author explains how this bird never asked for a crumb from anything or anyone.
F i g u r a t i v e M e a n i n g
Hope is something that goes through tough times but always survives. As described in line 8, hope always makes people feel more comfortable and optimistic in times of hardships, or as the the line says, “That kept so many warm”. The poem also talks about how hope is present in all situations, no matter where you are or what you are going through. Dickinson describes this as the feathered figure being heard in the chillest land and on the strangest sea.
L i t e r a r y D e v i c e s
S o u n d D e v i c e s
Onomatopoeia line 7 when she says “That could abash the little Bird” -> to describe the sounds of the storm and the sound of the bird hitting something or struggling. This represents the hardships that the “bird” or hope undergoes.
Alliteration line 6 when she writes, “And sore must be the storm”, using the same ‘s’ sound in ‘sore’ and ‘storm’ -> to emphasize the two words; in this context it is connecting how there is pain in a storm, emphasizing hardships in life.
Extended Metaphor
Line 1 “Hope” is the thing with feathers
Line 4 “And never stops - at all”
Line 7 and 8 “That could abash the little bird - that kept so many warm”
Line 12- “It asked a crumb of me”
Personnification
Line 2- “That perches in the soul”
‘perches' = physically rests and lives in
hope is always within our souls and never leaves us
we have the ability to always stay hopeful and optimistic
Imagery
Line 9- “I’ve heard it in the chillest land”
-'Chillest' and 'crumb' emphasize perseverance
-‘Hope’ can be found in the coldest places on earth
A hopeful person perseveres in the toughest situations.
Line 12- “It asked a crumb - of me”
'Hope’ does not need anything as little as a crumb to carry on.
A person who perseveres will not need support and encouragement from others, but will provide oneself with it.
Paradox
Line 3- “And sings the tune without the words”
Apparent contradiction that shows truth
To sing = to speak words to a musical melody.
‘Hope’ makes an inspirational impact by doing the smallest action.
W o r d D i c t i o n
Tone
Emily Dickinson uses an optimistic, motivational and hopeful tone in this poem -> Hope
Mood
Being the audience of this poem, the mood of this poem was empowered -> nothing can stop hope
Titles
Emily Dickinson did not title her poems as she never intended for them to be published and read by the public. After they were discovered by her sister, publishers decided to use the first line of all of her poems as the title. Nevertheless the title of this poem,“Hope is the Thing with Feathers” is still supportive of the overall theme of optimism and perseverance.